Building collapses kill 11 in India

Rescue workers carry the body of an injured man at the site
of a collapsed 11-storey building that was under
construction on the outskirts of the southern Indian city
of Chennai. Photo by Reuters

Two building collapses in New Delhi and Tamil Nadu states
killed at least 11 people and left dozens trapped, highlighting
the need for increased monitoring of construction across India
where such incidents are common.

Ten people including five children were killed in New Delhi
after a 50-year-old apartment block with 14 occupants
collapsed early on Saturday, a police spokesman said.

"Building collapse in Delhi brings forth need to adhere to
safety requirements," tweeted Vijay Goel, a lawmaker from the
ruling Bharatiya Janata Party that controls the Municipal
Corporation of Delhi.

Numerous building accidents in India's large cities have
killed about 100 people in the past year, according to local
media reports. More than 50 people were killed when an
apartment block collapsed in Mumbai last September.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Madhur Verma told reporters an
investigation into the cause of Saturday's building collapse
in New Delhi had been launched.

Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal called the
incident a "nexus between the builder mafia and the municipal
corporation". The corporation did not a answer phone call
requesting comment.

Later on Saturday, an 11-storey building under construction
in southern Tamil Nadu state came down, killing one worker,
said K. Shanmugasundaram, a spokesman for the state police.

"Some 10 workers are in hospital and one of them is in the
intensive care unit," he told Reuters. "Many more are still
feared trapped."

Local media reports said more than fifty people were feared
trapped in the debris of the block.